Effects of gamma irradiation on the chemical properties of actin and actomyosin during aging of meats have been studied. Meats were irradiated with 4 X 10" rad of cobalt-60 gamma rays at 40°F in three.steps, i.e., immediately after slaughter, at maximum rigor, and at "rigor off." Actin and two kinds of actomyosin (AMS and AML, previously reported by authors) were isolated from irradiated and control meats. The contents of sulfhydryl groups and amino acids, viscosity, the activity of ATPase and ATP sensitivity of actin and actomyosin were determined.From the results, actin is thought to be only slightly sensitive to irradiation as compared with actomyosin, and the latter, especially AML (a long-time extracted actomyosin) is considered to be very sensitive. In this case, it is inferred that the depolymerization must have taken place in actomyosin molecule by irradiation on meats. The effects of the time of irradiation on the chemical properties of actomyosin in meats seem to be more remarkable at rigor off than at the other two steps.

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